Vol. CXXXVIII, No. 13 January 8, 2018 thevarsity.ca —— University of Toronto’s Student Newspaper Since 1880
It takes a Village With rising concerns for community safety following the disappearances of multiple people around the Church-Wellesley area, many Torontonians have come together to safeguard the LGBTQ+ neighbourhood. Ilya Bañares explores the daunting trend, law enforcement efforts, and implications for campus safety. page 10
TTC board votes unanimously in favour of U-Pass
Disappearance of funds at VCDS stirs suspicions of theft
U-Pass seeks to make public transit affordable for students
$800 missing from locked cash box in locked VCDS office
Ann Marie Elpa Varsity Contributor
More affordable transit may become a reality for students on the St. George campus after the TTC Board unanimously voted in favour of the U-Pass Initiative during a meeting on December 11, 2017. The Universal Transit Pass (UPass), advocated by representatives from the University of Toronto Students’ Union (UTSU), Ryerson Students’ Union (RSU), Student Association of George Brown College (SAGBC), and the Ontario College of Art and Design Student Union, aims to provide an affordable means of transportation apart from the postsecondary metro pass offered by the TTC. A staff report from the Chief Executive Officer of the TTC states that the U-Pass offers greater savings than the 20 per cent discount offered by the postsecondary student metropass, priced at $116.75. Moreover, the initiative also proposes fare integration between several public transit systems in the Greater Toronto Area, such as Brampton Transit and York Region
Transit. According to the report, it is estimated that more than 15 percent per cent of commutes by postsecondary students involve more than one transit system in addition to the TTC. “The TTC is eager to make the U-Pass program work, everyone is in agreement on this,” said TTC Senior Communications Specialist Stuart Green. “A report is being prepared for our board in the first quarter of this year that would outline the specifics of the pass in terms of price and availability. If it is agreed to, it would be introduced in September.” Anne Boucher, Vice-President
External of the UTSU, spoke of an increased ridership during the TTC board meeting as a result of a UPass and how it will improve offpeak travel times. “Creating a long-term transit reliance is key to the sustainability of transit into the future. By securing the student ridership now, students are more likely to be committed users leading into their professional lives,” said Boucher. “A U-Pass encourages students to travel at off-peak times. Currently 76.6 per cent of our students say their commute affects how they schedule classes. They’re compressing their schedules into two to three compact days to avoid paying fares, which means they’re travelling in the morning rush and the evening rush,” continued Boucher. U-Pass, page 3
In 2017...
Aidan Currie Deputy News Editor
Sometime between October 31, 2017 and November 10, 2017, $800 in cash went missing from the Victoria College Drama Society (VCDS) cash box, located in a locked office. According to the society, only eight people have access to the office, located within the larger Victoria University Students’ Administrative Council (VUSAC) office. VCDS believes the money was stolen. While cleaning their office during the fall reading week, VCDS co-producers Alyssa DiBattista and Leora Nash discovered the empty cash box, but they originally thought nothing of it. “We assumed that our Chief Financial Officer, George Wilson, must have deposited the revenue from our first show into our bank account. Later in the month (before our second show), however, George went to count the amount in the money box, to be used as a float for our second show, only to find that
there was only the small amount I had seen during reading week,” wrote DiBattista. Wilson wrote that much of the money allegedly stolen had been “inherited by past years executives who often kept cash from shows in the office,” assuming the cash was revenue from past shows. Most of that money was deposited into VCDS’ bank account, but the money in the cashbox at the time of the supposed robbery was kept as float for the VCDS production of Colours in the Storm, which ran in mid-October of last year. The $800 consisted of the float cash and one night’s revenue from the show. DiBattista clarified that the VCDS exec assumed that the money was stolen because only she, Nash, and Wilson deal with money or the cash box. “We didn’t want to conclude that the money had been removed illicitly but it became more and more clear to us; no one else had used the money box on official business since the end of our first show. At some point, VCDS, page 3
In 2018... The biggest stories at U of T
Politics, law, and human rights in the community
Highlights from U of T’s research findings
The Varsity’s plans for the new year
Students share their resolutions
How to crush your fitness goals
NEWS
COMMENT
SCIENCE
EDITORIAL page 9
ARTS
SPORTS
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